Tactile Technologies Ltd. has obtained US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for its second-generation Implant Location System (ILS) for dentistry. The FDA approved the first-generation product two years ago, but the company did not launch sales until it developed the second-generation product. It has begun manufacturing and marketing the product.
ILS utilizes tactile sensing technology to offer intra-oral image-guided navigation specifically for dental practitioners. It is a computer-guided sensing, navigation and guiding suite for placement of dental implants designed both for the general practitioner and the expert.
Tactile Technologies’ main investor is Canadian Dr. Gerald Niznick, who founded Paragon Dental Implant in the 1980s, and which he sold to Zimmer Dental Inc. for more than $100 million. Niznick says that Paragon controls 60% of the Israeli dental implant market. When he sold Paragon, he signed a non-competition agreement with Zimmer. During the cooling off period, he served on the boards of Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv University, made donations to their dental schools, who had departments named for him.
Niznick also began secretly developing his next business, Implant Direct, which sells dental implants online. He launched the business six months ago when the cooling-off period expired. “I rehired my 100 employees,” he says.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on June 12, 2007
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